Festive Thoughts
by DrabbitDragonLord
Summary: Hiccup recalls his memories of Snoggletog, while trying not to miss Toothless. Astrid realizes the true meaning of the hatching season as Stormfly has her first hatchlings. *One-shot, set a few months before "Souls of Dragons". Full-description inside.


_Hello, fellow readers!_

 _I wanted to write a Christmas-themed fanfic, and settled with HTTYD (even though I have Star Wars on the brain… XD). I had already written another Snoggletog story, called "Three Words", so this is technically my second one-shot._

 _However, the big difference is that this is set in the AU from my story "Souls of Dragons". As a fair warning, you may be a little confused if you read this, but I will try my hardest to make it understandable for anyone who's unfamiliar with it._

 _As for an explanation as to why I wrote it… well, I'm curious as to how Snoggletog would play out for Hiccup and Astrid here. Remember, in "Souls of Dragons", Astrid was the one taken by the dragons and not Valka, so both of them would have different experiences of Snoggletog. For Hiccup, he has his parents and his sister to celebrate Snoggletog._

 _For Astrid… she's not so lucky, since she's been with dragons. And not much human interaction, either (as I established numerous times in "Souls of Dragons"). So what's the alternative for a Snoggletog for dragons? The hatching season._

 _Just to point out to those who haven't read "Souls of Dragons", Astrid will be referred by her dragon name: Flametorch._

 _I feel that there's a connection for both Snoggletog and the hatching season, from "Gift of the Night Fury". The hatching season is literally the dragons hatching, but I interpret it as a way for dragons to celebrate family, since their families are growing due to new dragons. So, since Astrid's an adopted dragon, she would "celebrate" with the dragons._

 _Oh, and I am working hard on the next chapter; I just have Christmas on the brain XD. It's nearly at 3,000 words (I always aim for 4,000 words a chapter), so hopefully it will be ready by Christmas, or near it anyway._

 _Here it is, and happy holidays! :)_

* * *

 _Festive Thoughts_

If Hiccup was to be brutally honest, he did _not_ enjoy being woken up before the crack of dawn.

Usually, Toothless would wake him up early so they could go flying. It was just a daily thing they did, and Snoggletog was no different. And most times, Toothless would be outside standing on the roof and shaking the dust into his mouth.

Toothless would _definitely_ not be sitting on him at this moment.

There was only one other person who it could be.

"Finna, get off me."

"No."

"Seriously, Finn. Get off."

From above him (or, to be more specific, _on_ him), his seventeen-year-old sister huffed. "Hmm. Let me think about that. No."

"Finna, get off." Was she _always_ this heavy?

"It's Snoggletog, Fishbone. You _need_ to get up."

With a push, Hiccup was able to take an advantage of his sister's smaller stature, and knocked her off his body. He sighed in satisfaction when he heard a loud bang from the floor. "I warned you, didn't I?" he asked, smirking.

He looked over sleepily, and watched Finna stand up and rub her head. "No. You're just getting boring. I _always_ used to jump on your bed to wake you up."

"Yea?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his eyes.

Hiccup smiled, his memory going to himself as a small child, and being brutally awaken by his younger sister. It would usually lead to both of them waking up excitedly, and running to their parents' room. He sighed. It was a simpler time, no doubt. A much simpler time.

A time before dragons.

"Well, we aren't kids anymore," Hiccup said, somewhat defeated.

He was twenty years old, after all. He would soon need to prepare for his new role in what all eldest children of chiefs who lived in the Archipelago did: future Chief. Hiccup had known that he would need to be Chief sooner rather than later, but his parents had decided that Hiccup would be chief when he was ready. The talks of chiefhood polluted their dinner discussions sometimes, but Hiccup was only lucky that Snoggletog might prove to be a bit of a break of the discussion.

Finna rolled her eyes. "What, do you still believe that _Odin_ places goodies in your helmet?" she asked. "I'm not stupid; I _know_ we aren't kids anymore."

"And soon, I'm going to be betrothed, and you'll get sent to be married to someone older like Hoark," Hiccup said jokingly.

Finna's mouth hung down. "Do _not_ joke about that." She leaned in closer. "Do you know he picks his toenails?"

"Okay, I didn't need to know that," was Hiccup's _grossed-out_ response.

"Brenna and I saw it-"

"Shut up," Hiccup said. "I get it."

Finna laughed. "I remember one Snoggletog when you dressed up as Odin and I was a hellhound."

"Oh, and we had to pose for hours so Bucket could paint it?" Hiccup asked, laughing as well.

He remembered that well. It was his and Finna's tradition to dress up either as a hellhound or Odin, and they would change the roles every year. And every year, Bucket would paint the image.

* * *

 _"I don't wanna be the hellhound this year!" Hiccup insisted. "You were Odin last year, remember?"_

 _Finna, being only six at the time, shook her head. "No! I'm Odin this year!"_

 _Hiccup frowned. "That's not fair! You were Odin last year!"_

 _"Kids, what's going on?" Stoick asked._

 _Finna pointed to the hellhound ears. "Hiccup won't let me be Odin."_

 _"But you were Odin last year," Stoick said. "It's Hiccup's turn."_

 _Hiccup smiled contently, as Finna gave him Odin's helmet in defeat._

 _Bucket came in and brought in a portrait. "Okay, ready when you are!"_

 _Both Hiccup and Finna tried to stand still as Bucket painted, but they soon became distracted and started hitting each other with their wooden swords._

* * *

"Oh, and the time when we tried to take portraits with the dragons, but they kept running away?" Hiccup asked. The first year they had the dragons, the Haddocks wanted their portraits taken with them. However, the dragons wouldn't sit still long enough to wait for the portraits to finish.

Hiccup almost stopped laughing, thinking about Toothless.

Gods, it had been two whole days that he hadn't seen Toothless. Sure, he knew that Toothless always returned, but Hiccup's worst fears haunted his dream, that his best friend would never return. How could Toothless do that, when the two of them had been through so much over the past five years?

"And the one year Dad got stuck going down the chimney?" Finna asked, bringing Hiccup back to the present.

The two started to laugh uncontrollably, as they relayed more stories of their Snoggletog stories. It was fun, to recall the times they would wake their parents early, open their gifts of weapons, clothes (gross…), and toys. And the holiday dinners that would come by at the Great Hall, where everyone feasted on roasted yak, fish and pudding.

It made him wonder if he would ever be able to relive some of their old traditions, now that they were no longer children.

He stood himself up and applied his prosthetic leg. "Well, what's stopping us from jumping on Mom and Dad's bed?" he asked, with a smile.

Finna's grin matched his.

* * *

At the beautiful oasis, many miles away from the Bewilderbeast's nest, dragons were hatching.

It was the annual thing, after all. Dragons from all corners of the Archipelago came here to nest, and to hatch their babies. Whether it was instinct or tradition made by the ancestors of long ago, the dragons never knew. But they did know that it was a close bond that the dragons would make with their young, and their extended families.

However, Flametorch didn't find the hatching place… welcoming.

Heck, she didn't even _go_ there this year.

She had lived among the dragons for seventeen years, and up until she was about _fifteen_ years old, she was forced to travel with Heavenwings and Stormfly to the nesting island. She had to watch as dragons around her would hatch from their exploding rock-like eggs, and crawl to their mothers in adorable admiration. Flametorch used to find the feeling of a new generation thriving for the nest, but she no longer liked the feeling.

She sighed, as she wandered around the almost-empty dragon sanctuary. _Almost_ , she used, since there were still some dragons that wandered around and stayed behind. The older ones who could no longer hatch eggs, that is. Oh, and including the ones that didn't have a chance to mate from a few months ago (that was another tradition that Flametorch wanted _nothing_ to do with).

Flametorch stopped walking once she found an older dragon, laying by herself. She used one of her oily hands to rub the older, smooth scales of the dragon. Old as they were, they were the shiniest scales she had ever seen. The blues and turquoises gleamed under the winter sun, and could blind anyone that came near.

"Oh. Flametorch," the dragon cooed happily, and rubbed her head against the human. "You nearly startled me."

Flametorch smiled. "Hello, Heavenwings. I'm surprised you didn't go with Stormfly to the oasis." She frowned. "This is her first one; I would have assumed you would want to see them."

"I'll see them when she returns," Heavenwings insisted. "I'm more surprised that you didn't want to go. She'd be very scared to hatch without her sister."

 _Sister. Yea right._

Flametorch sighed. "What's the point? I won't be able to go there any time soon. Humans don't hatch eggs, remember?"

Heavenwings nodded, in what seemed like in understanding. "I see. And you are so certain that you cannot have children, that you can't spend time with Stormfly."

Flametorch shrugged. In some degree, Heavenwings _did_ have a point. As exciting it would be to be a mother… she felt empty at the moment. It wasn't necessarily the feeling of having children that she craved… it was that it was another thing that made herself and Stormfly so different.

That Flametorch was _not_ a dragon.

"You're missing out," Heavenwings said, nonchalantly. "You think because you are a human that you cannot experience the happiness of a dragon." She nudged Flame. "You know, there's more to the hatching season than just having babies."

Flametorch didn't answer, but she stayed quiet.

"The hatching season is about family. Which, I suppose, is the reason why there _is_ a hatching season. Families are created, and families go there to escape the cold and to keep warm. One of the best ways to keep warm is to huddle in a family group." Heavenwings smiled. "Do you remember when I used to take you and Stormfly to the oasis, and you two would play and splash in the water?"

Flame smiled, because she _did_ remember. It was one of her fondest memories of her childhood. While she played with Stormfly and the rest of the dragon hatchlings, she always forgot how different she was.

In that moment, she was a dragon, too.

* * *

"Get up, Dad!" Hiccup and Finna shouted.

Both the Chief and his wife raised their heads a little from their bedside. Stoick rubbed his eyes. "Aren't you a little too old to wake us up at the crack of dawn?" he asked, tiredly.

Hiccup glanced at Finna, both faces matching in grins. "Yes."

Slowly, both parents rose from their comfy beds, and yawned loudly to show their exhaustion. Hiccup wasn't surprised; his parents _always_ appeared annoyed when woken up before dawn on the morning of Snoggletog.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" Stoick asked, rubbing his head exhaustedly.

Finna merely smirked as she walked down the stairs. "I like to think that _anything_ is necessary."

"For once, I agree with Finn," Hiccup said. He patted his father's shoulder. "Why aren't you excited that Finna and I are continuing the sacred family tradition of jumping on your bed?"

Valka followed them as well, but did not appear as miserable as her husband. Quite the opposite, she was smiling at them. "Yes, because I had the _best_ experiences with raising you two."

"But we were _angels_ , Mother," Finna insisted, batting her eyes at her mother. "How could you _not_ say no to your little angels?"

"More like wee devils," Stoick grumbled.

* * *

 _"Wake up, Daddy!" eight-year-old Hiccup shouted._

 _"Snoggletog!" five-year-old Finna added._

 _Both Stoick and Valka smiled as they slowly sat themselves up. Hiccup immediately jumped to his mother, with Finna landing in their father's arms._

 _"Did Odin leave goodies in your helmets?" Stoick asked._

 _Hiccup and Finna nodded._

 _"He left bonbons!" Finna shouted, holding out her hand._

 _"And some dumplings!" Hiccup added._

 _Stoick and Valka laughed tiredly._

* * *

Valka ushered the four of them to the table, and moved herself to the kitchen. Hiccup already knew what was coming; it was customary for the Haddocks to eat their breakfast _after_ they opened their gifts, which included delicious pound cakes. This routine changed to eating _before_ opening gifts when the dragons came to live on Berk. Unsupervised food disappeared if the Hooligans opened gifts with a finished breakfast ready. However, most of the dragons were at the oasis hatching their young, which was a tradition for dragons as well.

Even Toothless went; Hiccup fixed the auto-prosthetic tail he made for Toothless from five years ago, and kept it away in the shed whenever the dragon wanted to travel with the other dragons. Hiccup had to admit, he missed his best friend, but he was happy that Toothless could spend some time with the dragons.

It was not long before Gobber joined the house. He was considered an honorary uncle to Hiccup and Finna, and Gobber didn't have an immediate family to spend the day with before the huge dinner that evening. However, it became tradition for the Haddocks to allow Gobber into their home, and Hiccup and Finna always enjoyed whatever dangerous weapons Gobber made them over the years.

Hiccup sat quietly, as he watched his parents, Gobber, and sister eat. He poked with his pound cake a few times before taking a bite (it actually wasn't as bad as Gobber complained it to be). It wasn't the food, really; it was more that his memory would not allow him to stop thinking about the past.

* * *

 _Five-year-old Hiccup laughed as opened his first gift. He remembered the paper was flimsy, and no more than parchment paper used for writing, but he didn't care; he loved hearing the paper ripping open, and to see what was hidden underneath._

 _He gasped at the sight of his gift: a small sword, with a blade. He went to touch the tip, noticing the sharpness of it. It wasn't very sharp, but it was sharper than the wooden ones he was used to playing with._

 _"Whoa! Did Gobber make this?" he asked._

 _Stoick laughed. "Yes, but he says that you can learn to make some of these at his shop, if you'd like to."_

 _Hiccup could only smile. He was going to work with Gobber at the forge? He could already picture himself working with the hot metal and creating weapons for the Hooligans during the dragon raids!_

 _He looked up at his mother, holding the toddler Finna. "Can I, Mom? Please?" he asked._

 _Valka glanced at Stoick with sceptical eyes. "Stoick…"_

 _"He'll be fine, Val," Stoick insisted, as he helped Hiccup pick up the small sword. "Now, son. When you're holding the sword, you need to"_

 _"Stoic, do you realize what you're doing?" Valka said, rather sternly. "He's going to get hurt working in that gods-forsaken place, and with a man with only one hand!"_

 _Hiccup's eyes never left the shiny sword, but he could still hear his mother's words. It didn't help that Stoick left to talk to her. "Look, Val. He's better off where he's not wandering somewhere. At least with Gobber, he won't be distracted by the things he can't do."_

 _"I can take care of him quite well when I'm tending the wounded," Valka insisted._

 _Stoick shook his head. "He's done more damage with the wounded than actually getting us wounded."_

* * *

Hiccup rubbed his eyes. _That_ memory hadn't surfaced in his mind since, well, the moment it happened. He tried _so_ hard to prove that he wasn't different ever since.

He tried to prove that he wasn't Useless.

He ignored Gobber's offer of potatoes, and waved his hand away, while going back to playing with his food. Did breakfast have to be so long? Why couldn't he just get away from this _Viking_ business and fly with his bud?

Without another word, he excused himself from the table and went outside.

At least, sitting outside was something he was good at. Here, he didn't have to listen to the pointless bickering of what the New Year would come. Hell, Hiccup already knew what his father was going to do: he was going to ask Hiccup to become the new Chief, and announce to the world of the news.

Once again, Hiccup sighed. However, he used his prosthetic foot to play against the ice and snow. He was spending Snoggletog morning outside. Damn, that was sad. But perhaps… it was for the best. Maybe he just needed to be alone, and not be around his family. No matter what the Haddocks did, or even the rest of the Hairy Hooligans, Hiccup was still different.

"Son, are you alright?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I… err… just miss Toothless, that's all."

Valka chuckled, as she sat beside him. "Really… because I'm sure that you're not looking forward to what the new year will bring, or did you forget that your father plans to make you Chief sooner rather than later?"

Hiccup had no idea why or how his mother could know what he was felling. "Maybe… but…"

"But, what?" Valka prompted, as she placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"I thought back to when I received my first metal sword," Hiccup admitted. "When I was five, and you told Dad that I shouldn't have to work in the forge."

"You mean during the raids?" Valka asked. "I know it took me a few days, but I agreed with your father."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yea, because you both agreed that I was useless."

"Hiccup, what would make you think that?" Valka asked, sounding hurt.

"Because it's true." When Valka didn't answer, he continued. "All my life, I've been different. You even said it yourself: I'm not like the rest of the Hooligans. Yea, I know it's the whole dragon thing and whatnot, but you know that I don't belong in this world." He sighed, allowing his own words to kick in. " _I'm_ not good enough for this family."

Valka rubbed her son's shoulders. "Don't say that, Hiccup. You are loved here, and you're no different than the rest of the Hooligans. In fact, because of your connection of dragons, I think it makes you better."

Hiccup found himself smiling a little.

"And you should come back inside," Valka insisted. "Snoggletog isn't about traditions and presents. It's about being together as a family, and celebrate those who are not here with us."

Hiccup nodded at the truth to her words. "Is there some dumplings left over?"

Valka laughed, and both went inside.

* * *

Flametorch sighed as she walked through the oasis. The dragons were doing what she expected them to be doing: feeding their newly hatched babies.

Heavenwings rubbed her head against her. " _Give them a chance._ "

Some of the little dragons came up to her, quizzically, and began to sniff at her. Flametorch didn't say so, but the hatchlings were incredibly adorable. Three Gronkles and two Monstrous Nightmares, of different colours, surrounded her and cooed up at her with curiosity. Flame knew; they had never seen a human before.

" _It's alright, little ones. I won't hurt you_ ," she cooed softly, as she bent down.

One of the Monstrous Nightmares immediately went up to her and rubbed his head against her foreleg, as though to accept the stranger. His sister seemed to understand the gesture, because she too joined in accepting Flametorch. It wasn't too long before all five hatchlings were on top of her and covering her in dragon saliva.

Heavenwings released a small chuckle. " _Perhaps it's time to go see Stormfly."_

Flametorch nodded in agreement. " _Yes. I think it's a good idea."_

She maneuvered herself around all the dragons, which proved to be more difficult than what she had anticipated. The dragons huddled closely together, especially the ones of the same species. Some of the mothers, she could tell, were feeding their children, or mostly resting as the hatchlings played with each other.

Finding her Deadly Nadder sister proved to be more difficult than anticipated. There were hundreds of Deadly Nadders in the Winderwest, after all (and most of them just _had_ to come to _this_ oasis). It didn't help either that most Deadly Nadders had bright scales that matched the blue ocean. _Camouflage._

" _Flametorch?"_ a dragon hissed.

Flame looked around, and saw a Deadly Nadder approach her. The human girl smiled widely at the sight of the dragons, knowing exactly who she was. She could _never_ miss her sister's shiny blue scales if her life depended on it.

She ran over and hugged the dragon. " _I wanted to surprise you, Stormfly."_

 _"Yes. I'm so happy you're here!"_ Stormfly cooed happily. Her pupils rounded at the sight of Heavenwings. " _Mom, you came!"_

Heavenwings chuckled. " _Well, someone had to stay with Flame."_

Flametorch found herself laughing as well. She almost ignored the tapping feeling against her leg. Looking down, she saw three little Deadly Nadders peering up at her with little smiles and thick pupils. She couldn't help but notice their scales: magenta, baby blue and lime green. _Huh. They look like Stormfly and Heavenwings._

" _Did you name them, yet?"_ Flametorch asked, as she bent down to pet the hatchlings.

Stormfly shook her head. " _I was going to name them when they came home."_ She sighed, looked down at her hatchlings. " _I only managed to hatch three. There were eight of them."_

" _Do not worry,"_ Heavenwings insisted. " _You and Grayscales were the only survivors in my first batch."_

Flametorch stood up and patted Stormfly's scales. She didn't know how it felt to lose eggs, especially the first ones. The human girl sighed. " _I'm sorry,"_ was all she could say.

Stormfly didn't answer.

" _Hey, let's name them_ ," Flametorch suggested. She sat back down and picked up the magenta one. _Hmm…_ definitely _a female._ The little dragon immediately sprung up on her legs, and covered Flametorch in kisses.

" _She reminds me of the springs back at home,"_ Flame admitted. However, she knew that it was more that just the thought of _springs_ that caused her to think of the name. The warmer season, the start of new life of plants and fish, the humans referred to that time as spring. It was the promise of a new generation. New hope. New life.

Heavenwings sat herself down and cooed. " _I think Spring is the perfect name._ "

Flametorch looked back up at Stormfly. " _What do you think?"_ she asked.

Stormfly sighed, and sat herself down as well. With some encouragement, she looked at her daughter in Flame's arms. Stormfly's eyes switched from thin to thick pupils, going back and forth.

" _Yes,"_ Stormfly agreed. _"Spring is a good name."_

Flame smiled.

* * *

Later that evening, Hiccup's Snoggletog was immediately better.

The Hooligans of Berk went to the Great Hall to eat the customary dinner, and where they were waiting for all the dragons to return. Thanks to Hiccup's introduction to the "return migration", the dragons returned to Berk around the same day as Snoggletog.

Hiccup couldn't wait to see his best friend.

"Hey, you think Meatlug will have babies again?" Fishlegs asked, out of the blue.

Finna shrugged. "She's had like three litters... or kits, whatever you call it." Hiccup and Finna were sitting with the young adults and teenagers, as they always did. "I don't doubt she'll be stopping anytime soon."

Fishlegs nodded, while Adelaide snorted. "The dragons better come back today; I can't stand to hear Snotlout cry in his sleep because he misses his baby."

"I do _not_!" Snotlout insisted.

"Yea, you do," Adelaide grinned.

Hiccup sighed. "Come on, guys. There's no way the dragons _aren't_ coming back this year. They _always_ come back."

"Says you," Ruffnut snorted. "Your dragon only comes back because he can't fly anywhere without you."

"That's not true," Finna insisted. "Toothless likes it when Hiccup helps him fly."

Snotlout laughed. "Yea, right. Then why doe Hookfang always need me to fly with him?"

"Because he's an idiot, like his rider," Adelaide said. Finna and her friend Brenna laughed along with her.

Hiccup found himself leaving the table. If that was what the Riders thought, then why was he even sitting with them? He knew that Snotlout was an idiot, but he still was family. Fishlegs... not so much, but at least he didn't speak retardedly. As for the twins, well, he didn't know what was going on in their heads most of the time.

He walked outside, where the snow was starting to fall once again, to cover the grounds of Berk once more. Hiccup kicked at the snow, as he thought about what Snotlout and Ruffnut said. What if Toothless _didn't_ come back this year? Toothless always seemed happier when he returned from the oasis with the other dragons, but Toothless was generally a happy dragon, anyway. Still, Hiccup had the small fear that Toothless would want to leave him.

His mother's words came back, and he thought of what she meant. Sure, Toothless was not here, but Hiccup would do his best to celebrate his friend. He wanted to make sure that Toothless would always be remembered, even if he decided to leave Berk one day. Hiccup smiled to himself. _He'll still be my best friend._

He was interrupted by the sound of roaring.

Hiccup looked up, and he couldn't form a coherent thought before something black and scaly hit him hard against the snow. Oh, and there was the pink, glossy tongue that licked him across his face.

"Eww, bud! That's gross!" he shouted. Hiccup then gasped. "Toothless?"

Toothless cooed happily, and smiled his toothless grin. " _I'm here, Hiccup! I'm back!"_

Hiccup smiled, and hugged his best friend. "I missed you too, bud." The dragon cooed back, and hugged his human in return.

Hiccup was finally home. He could finally celebrate Snoggletog.

* * *

Flametorch patted the three babies. " _You know, you were right about Troubletail,"_ she said, pointing to the lime green Deadly Nadder. " _He's a bit of a troublemaker._ "

" _And for Jungle?"_ Heavenwings asked, gesturing to the baby blue one. " _She's wild like her sister, Spring."_

Stormfly cooed. " _I'm happy that they are all healthy and happy. They are the future of our nest, and we need to protect them."_

 _"I couldn't have said it better myself,"_ Flametorch agreed.

It took her some time, but she finally realized what her mother had told her... about spending time as a family. She was happy here, spending time with the future of the dragons, and the present ones that were still here. It was the true meaning of the hatching season.

Flametorch smiled to herself.

She was happy. She was home.

* * *

 _Holy. I hope I don't lose you guys in all of this. I just wanted to make something fun out of this Feral Astrid!AU that I have with "Souls of Dragons".  
_

 _Anyway, I plan to publish the new chapter tomorrow, if all goes as planned._

 _Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!_

 _~DrabbitDragonLord_


End file.
